Boca Raton Electric Scooter Accident Lawyer

Scooter

As electric scooters and other micro-mobility rental services rise in prominence across the United States, it is no surprise to learn that accidents involving electric scooters are also on the rise. These options make for simple travel in a fun and enjoyable way, and oftentimes do not require that they are returned to a charging dock or pickup location, making them an extremely convenient choice for getting around Boca Raton. There are many problems with these types of transportation, though, starting with the fact that many drivers on the road are not used to sharing a lane with them, and secondly (and likely more importantly), the fact that most major cities in the United States, Boca Raton included, are not designed to accommodate scooters safely.

If you choose to use a scooter to get around town, you are one of many taking part in this growing trend. It is important that you understand the traffic laws and regulations that you must follow, as well as the safety guidelines set forth in order to keep you as safe as possible; however, if you get in an accident it is important that you know how to find the type of legal support that you need. After an accident, hiring an attorney can be one of the most important decisions that you make, but unfortunately, it can also feel like an impossible task that many choose to overlook – to the benefit of the insurance company.

Find an Electric Scooter Accident Lawyer in Boca Raton Today

1-800-Injured is an attorney and medical referral service. Instead of taking on the additional task of locating a personal injury lawyer in your area who is willing to take your case, we will do the difficult work for you so that you can focus on your personal needs first. When you file an insurance claim on your own, the insurance company immediately takes action to identify every possible way to limit your settlement amount, including using your words against you, leaning on “technicalities” as reasons for pinning additional fault on you, and more.

When you are working with an experienced attorney from the start of your insurance claim, they can handle all communications with the insurance company to make sure that you are not making any missteps that may come back to haunt you when it comes time to negotiate your settlement. In fact, they will ensure that there is a negotiation process at all, something often omitted when a victim is working through the claim on their own. 

Calculating Damages After an Electric Scooter Accident in Boca Raton

Your insurance claim, along with any other tort-related case in the United States, focuses on compensation, NOT criminal charges or penalties, even if a crime has taken place. When you file a claim with an insurance company, the two major questions that must be answered are related to fault and damages. Who caused the accident, and how much money is the victim entitled to? When you are working with a personal injury attorney for your claim, they will use the time that the insurance adjuster is performing an investigation to do their own calculations in order to determine what you are actually owed. When it comes time for the insurance company to make their initial offer, you’ll be shocked at the difference in estimates.

The following sections explain how fault works in Florida, as well as the two different types of compensatory damages that your attorney will calculate for you, and then negotiate with the insurance company in order to get for you in the form of a settlement. If they are unable to reach a fair agreement, their next step may be to file a lawsuit with the Florida courts, but there are many steps before that decision is made. 

Determining Fault After an Electric Scooter Accident in Boca Raton

In order to determine who is the victim in the accident, and therefore who is entitled to compensation, your attorney will need to work with the insurance company to reach an agreement on the appropriate fault assigned to all involved. In some cases, it is exceptionally clear that you are the victim, but the insurance company will always try to pin some blame on you in order to save themselves as much money as possible.

Florida uses a rule known as pure comparative negligence which allows for a victim to accept partial responsibility for causing the accident and still be entitled to damages, which are reduced by the percentage that the victim contributed to the accident. Without this rule in place, a victim may be 1% responsible for an accident and lose all rights to compensation, so while this rule is exceptionally helpful, the insurance company will aggressively use it to try to reduce their financial obligation. Your lawyer will need to push back to make sure that you do not accept any more fault than you are truly responsible for so that you can get the money that you are entitled to. 

Economic Damages

Economic damages are the basis of your claim. They include all of the impacts of your accident that have measurable financial values like receipts, invoices, income statements, and bills. They include your medical bills and all of your treatment-related costs and expenses, including any ongoing or long-term treatment or care that you may need to recover from catastrophic injuries. 

In addition to your medical-related damages, they also include impacts to your income such as the missed time at work, any vacation days or PTO that you may have cashed in, or any impacts to your actual earning capacity. The long-term costs included in your economic damages can be extremely tricky to calculate, so working with an attorney to make sure that you are protected beyond your immediate damages is extremely important.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages are just as important as the economic damages in your settlement package, but they are much more complicated to calculate. They seek monetary compensation for impacts that have no financial value, such as the impacts on your emotional and psychological wellbeing, the pain and suffering of your injuries, and more. 

As you can imagine, an insurance company focused on saving as much money as possible will be aggressive at contesting these damages, which is why having an experienced personal injury lawyer representing you through your negotiations is so important. Confidence is key during any negotiation, and the insurance company will be certain to make you question your sanity for requesting these damages if you are not represented by someone who has been through this process many times before.